Ganoe Paving Creates New Offerings to Broaden Their Customer Base
Ganoe Paving has been around since the 1970s, known in south central Pennsylvania and surrounding areas for its quality paving work. But now, the firm has a new focus, reflecting a broader level of services that includes excavating and sitework.
As it transitions, Ganoe Paving is relying on Cleveland Brothers and Caterpillar to provide the products and support that will help it reach a new customer base while upholding longstanding traditions of quality and reliability.
The change started when Dirk Mowen joined the firm in 2011 as operations manager, with an option to buy the company from David Ganoe, who is the son of Ganoe’s founder Melvin Ganoe. Mowen has many years of construction experience and, when he took ownership, he saw an opportunity to expand the scope of work “for the simple fact that you can’t pave in the wintertime.”
“It’s nice to have some revenue in the wintertime instead of all costs,” says Mowen, now president and owner.
Mowen knew that raising awareness of the firm’s new directions would take strategic marketing, since Ganoe has been recognized as a paving firm for so many years.
As he pursued expansion, the company won bids because several smaller excavators had closed their doors, creating an opportunity to take jobs that larger excavators might decline to perform.
“We’re getting a foot in the door and letting people know we’re doing this kind of work,” Mowen says. “They see the equipment on the roads, so they think of us.”
That equipment includes a range of Cat® machinery — a 953 loader, 304 and 305 mini excavators, a D3 dozer and a Cat telehandler. While the 304 is handy for such jobs as blacktop restoration, Mowen bought the 305 to use for municipal concrete curb and sidewalk removal.
Cleveland Brothers’ Account Manager Chris Sullivan helped arrange the sale. “Chris and I got together and lined things up,” says Mowen.
As the firm has continued to move forward with more excavation and general site work, Cleveland Brothers’ support has been strong, Mowen says. “Service is the number one thing. The sales reps work with you to try to get you what you need. They have their own drop areas. You can pick parts up if needed. That’s a good thing that Cleveland Brothers does. They support their customers.”